The history of Christianity is a story full of adventure, comfort, battle and peace. On the one hand there are those who experience the faith as a source of consolation and encouragement, personal and private; and on the other hand some see it as a challenge to convince others of its rightness and opposition to the way of the world, public and corporate. For most, it is probably a mix of all of this. Although the media like to portray the Church as a single monolithic entity, forbidding alternative views, the truth of the matter is Church is a complex mix of many different and differing views; just as those attending, our congregations and worshippers, are a wide variety of people from all walks of life and from all kinds of backgrounds.
Indeed, Christians are keen to show people who have never set foot in a church how varied we are. For our vision is to reflect the world, in all its complexity, not turning anyone away or demanding conditions to being accepted as part of who we are. The fact we don’t always live up to our vision is a bit of a truism, the aim is to share what we know and understand of Jesus, in a world desperate for some good news. For in Jesus, we see something of what we believe is the foundation of life itself: to love life and share its riches with those the world reject.
